


distance makes the heart grow fonder

by reddies_spaghetti



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, First Dates, First Kiss, M/M, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 17:19:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16769494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddies_spaghetti/pseuds/reddies_spaghetti
Summary: You’re just in town for the week but I haven’t seen you in forever do you want to go grab dinner together? AU





	distance makes the heart grow fonder

**Author's Note:**

> My November fill for the reddie library!! Enjoy!

“Eddie-bear remember you need to pick up your meds from Mr. Keene’s before he closes for the weekend!” Sonia yelled up the stairs, causing Eddie to flinch and almost slam his bedroom door shut in her face. He was twenty-two years old and still stuck at home in his childhood bedroom, in Derry. He closed his eyes and focused on the book in front of him, writing a few notes down in his notepad. 

“Eddie!” His mother called again, her voice rising a few pitches. He sighed and rolled back in his chair, yelling back down the stairs in acknowledgment. 

“Yes, ma! I’m just finishing my chapter!” He closed over his door after that, trying to focus once more but his concentration was broken. He closed over the books and pulled on his coat and shoes, wrapping his scarf around his neck to protect him from the cold. It was three days to Christmas, and it had been snowing heavily in Derry since the beginning of December.

Eddie trudged down the stairs, a little annoyed that he had to go out in the cold for something that he pretended to take, but on the other hand, he was glad to get away from his mother for an hour or so. “Could you stop at the store too Eddie-bear? We need more milk.” She passed him a few dollars and pressed a kiss to his cheek, making Eddie grimace before he was out the door and into the cold. 

The walk to Mr. Keene’s wasn’t as bad as Eddie imagined as the sidewalks had all been swept, and the parts that weren’t, he just stepped onto the road. He pushed open the door to the pharmacy and stepped into the heat, heading straight for the counter, “Hi Mr. Keene, I’m just here to pick up my usual,” he said with a tired voice.

Mr. Keene just smiled and reached underneath, sliding Eddie the package over the counter, “All stocked up for the Christmas Holidays huh Eddie? How is your mother?”

“She’s...just the same as she always is, Mr. Keene,” Eddie said shortly, trying to keep the conversation nice and short, he had no time to talk to Mr. Keene. “I really should go, I have to go to the store.”

“Have a Merry Christmas, Eddie!” Mr. Keene called as Eddie made his way out of the store. He gave the man a wave before stepping back out into the street. He really should have been paying attention to where he was going, but if Eddie hadn’t been so focused on the floor, he wouldn’t have stumbled into who he did.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Eddie gasped, reaching down to help them pick up the shopping that had scattered onto the sidewalk. “Shit, I really should have been paying attention to where I was going.”

“Eds?” The voice of the person spoke and Eddie’s spine shot up straight. He knew that voice and there was only one person that ever  _ ever _ called him Eds.

“Richie?” Eddie spoke, quietly and he looked up, his eyes locking with none other than Richie Tozier himself. He wasn’t sure it was possible, but Richie had gotten taller since the last time he had seen him. Which was almost four years ago. He swallowed and subtly ran his eyes over Richie, or at least what he could as he was wrapped up for the weather. He was more tanned, which made sense since he was out in California, his hair was longer, more curly and Eddie was glad to see he was still wearing his glasses. 

“Holy shit,” Richie breathed and sat his bags back down, wasting no time to pull Eddie into his arms in a tight hug. Eddie buried his nose into Richie’s neck, breathing him in and he felt a lump form in his throat. It had been so long since he had seen Richie...he’d almost forgotten what it was like to be so close to him. “Eds...how are you?”

“I’m...I’m alright,” he said with a shrug, trying his best not to break out into tears. Richie was proof that it was possible to escape the hell that was Derry, and yet here he was, still stuck here with no exit sign to be seen. “More importantly, how are you? I haven’t seen you in forever!”

Richie chuckled and lightly gripped Eddie’s arms, holding him out and he shook his head, “I’m spending Christmas with my folks here. I can’t always expect them to fly out every year.” Eddie watched as he ran his eyes up and down Eddie’s form. “Man, have I missed you Eds. Are you visiting dear old Mrs. K?’

“Visiting?” Eddie blurted out and shook his head. “No...no I’m not visiting. Can’t call it visiting if you never left.”

“What? You still live here? But...but what about New York?” Richie asked, his eyes wide and confused. 

“I never even made it passed the Derry sign before my mother dug her claws into my back,” Eddie said quietly. “She canceled my application, and she wouldn’t even let me go to U-Maine. Or at least in person. I take online classes.”

“Eds...Eds, that’s awful, I’m so sorry…” Richie started but Eddie shook his head.

“No, no please it’s okay. How long are you in town for?” He asked, biting down on his lip nervously. It was strange, even though they hadn’t seen each other in four years, how Richie still managed to make Eddie’s heart hammer in his chest. 

“Just until the 27th, I’m heading back to California for New Years,” Richie explained, looking to the ground.

“Can we have dinner?” Eddie asked, hopefully. “Tonight maybe? Since I know you’ll want to spend the holidays with your family.”

Richie nodded his head quickly, smiling wide, “Yes, I’d love to get dinner with you. Seven? I’ll pick you up.”

Eddie nodded his head, his cheeks heating up a little at the thought. There was no way his mother was stopping him from going out to dinner with Richie. “It’s a date.”

“Hell yeah, it’s a date.”

* * * * *

That night, Eddie got dressed for his date with Richie, his heart thumping against his ribcage. He had told his mother in a fleeting comment when he had come home, and although she wasn’t happy about him going out with ‘that Tozier boy’ she agreed. He had no idea where Richie was planning on taking him, but he couldn’t care, as long as he got to spend time with him that was all that mattered. 

When seven hit, he heard a car horn honk from outside and he opened his window, looking out to find Richie below his window in the snow, the car still running, “Well isn’t this situation familiar…” he called up and Eddie covered his mouth to contain his laughter. Same old Richie. 

“I’m not climbing out of my window,” Eddie called back down. “I’ll be down in a second.” He closed his window and headed down the stairs, telling his mother that he wouldn’t be home too late, but for her not to wait up for him. He was twenty-two goddammit. Before she could change her mind, he rushed out of the door, meeting Richie halfway. “Hey…”

“Hey Eds, shall we?” Richie offered Eddie his arm and he took it, linking them together as they headed to the car. It was warm inside, and Eddie recognised it as Went’s car.

“Your dad let you borrow his car?” Eddie asked, raising his eyebrow.

“I’m a big boy now Eds. That means I can drive a big boy car!” Richie laughed and drove off. They didn’t drive far, their destination being the best (and only) diner in Derry. It was still open so close to the holidays and it was next to empty. “Do you remember the countless nights we spent here back in High School?”

“Yeah,” Eddie breathed. “I remember you spent a month ordering each flavour of milkshake on the menu so you could decide which one was the best. After all that hassle, you picked chocolate.  _ Chocolate _ .” 

“Why mess with a classic?” Richie grinned and they got out of the car, heading into the diner and taking a seat in their booth. They ordered their favourite milkshakes, Strawberry for Eddie and Chocolate for Richie, as well as burgers and fries. “To old times,” Richie smiled, holding up his milkshake when they arrived. 

“To old times,” Eddie grinned, clinking their glasses together and taking a big gulp. 

They spent the time in the diner talking and catching up as though they had never spent any time apart. At some point through the evening, their fingers had end up laced together over the table, and their ankles locked underneath. This was turning out to really be a date, instead of just two friends catching up. The thought that it was only going to be a one-time thing felt like a stab in Eddie’s heart. 

Once they had finished eating, Richie paid for the bill at his insistence and they headed back out towards the car. This was it, the end of the evening...but Eddie didn’t want it to end so soon. “Wait...it’s stopped snowing. Do you want to go for a walk?” 

Richie beamed and held out his hand in acceptance, lacing his gloves fingers with Eddie’s as they walked towards the park across from the diner. “You know, I spent the whole of our senior year trying to figure out a way to ask you out…” Richie spoke softly after a while. 

Eddie’s eyes widened and he felt his heart skip a beat as he turned to face Richie, “Really? What...what stopped you?”

“Each time I tried, I always chickened out. Whether it was me thinking you were too good for me, or the fear of the distance that we were gonna have to face. I was a scared kid.” Richie turned, taking Eddie’s face in his hands and stroking over his cheekbones with his gloved thumb. “But I’m not that scared kid anymore.”

Eddie bit his lip and he leaned into Richie’s hands, “What if it’s my turn to be scared?” He whispered. 

“Don’t be,” Richie breathed, “If you don’t want this...then please tell me now and I’ll step back and we can go back to the car. I’ll drop you off and we’ll not see each other for another four years. But if...but if you do want this...I would really like to kiss you, Eds.”

A silence stretched between them as Eddie’s brain tried to catch up with Richie’s words. When it did, Eddie nodded his head, some of his hair escaping the confinement of his hat and falling over his face, “I want you to kiss me. I’ve wanted you to kiss me since we were fifteen years old.”

As soon as the words left Eddie’s lips, Richie wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling their bodies together and his other hand cradled his face, bringing their lips together in a soft, sweet first kiss. Eddie breathed out, wrapping his arms around Richie’s neck, pushing up on his toes to deepen the kiss, if only just slightly. It was everything that Eddie ever could have imagined in a first kiss, and he was so glad he got to share it with Richie. 

When the need for air became too much to ignore, they parted and Richie rested their foreheads together, their breaths mingling between them, “God…” Richie whispered. “You’re so beautiful. More beautiful than I remembered, and from what I remember, you were a wet dream.”

A flush covered Eddie’s cheeks and he pushed Richie back a little, “Beep beep, Richie.” As the words left his lips, a shiver ran through him and Richie cleared his throat, wrapping an arm around Eddie’s shoulders as they headed back to the car. As soon as the doors were closed, Richie cranked up the heat, letting the window’s de-frost from the ice before he started driving Eddie back to his place. 

He came to a stop outside Eddie’s house, the place in darkness which showed that his mother indeed, went to bed. He paused, reaching for the handle and he turned back to face Richie. “I had a really nice time tonight,” he whispered. “I don’t want it to end.”

Richie unbuckled his seatbelt, leaning across the seat to take Eddie’s face into his hands, bringing their lips back together in what would be their last kiss. Eddie wouldn’t see Richie again during his visit, not with the holidays happening. “Eds…”

“Yeah?” Eddie breathed, his eyelids fluttering closed, feeling Richie’s breath against his lips. 

“Can I ask you something?” Richie whispered and Eddie opened his eyes, meeting Richie’s hopeful ones. 

“Of course, you can ask me anything,” Eddie said, honestly. “Always.”

“Come to California with me?”


End file.
